Recycle your bling

What do you do with necklaces that you no long wear?  Trash them?  Give them to your favorite charity?  Or just let them clutter up your drawers?

Why not give them new life by wearing them with other pieces?  Yes, you can multi-task your jewelry by wearing it with several necklaces for a new material girl look.  Or if not that, double or triple wrap it around your wrist and wear it as a chunky new bracelet.  Either way, you’ll get more use out of your “old” bling, and beautify the world and yourself.

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Amethyst Warning

If you have had cancer, have cancer, or have a family history of cancer, please DO NOT wear amethyst jewelry unless combined with the stone calcite.  According to the book “Rock Medicine”, by Sela Weidemann Randazzo, amethyst vibrates at a frequency that creates cell division/cell mitosis.  In the case of cancer, the division created by wearing amethyst would create more cancerous cells.  Calcite negates this process, since it’s an anti-cancer stone.

What do you think?

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How do you know it’s a “real” pearl?

When in doubt if your pearl jewelry is real, rub the “pearls in question” along the bottom of your front teeth.  Do they feel rough or smooth?  If they feel rough they’re real pearls.  That’s because real pearls form with layer upon layer of nacre, the shimmering substance secreted by an oyster or other pearl bearing mollusk, which coats an injury or object that gets inside the shell.

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Are “cultured” pearls real pearls?

This debate has gone on since pearl culturing developed in the late 19th century and early 20th century.  A Japanese business person, Mikimoto, perfected a system for culturing pearls and began mass producing them.  The massed produced pearls and pearl jewelry bought up by Japanese, European, and Americans were then considered “imitation” pearls.  However, they are now considered real pearls that are farmed in controlled environments with man’s intervention.  Ironically, today’s least expensive cultured pearls rival the quality of the most expensive natural pearls ever found.

These days, the Chinese account for most of the world’s freshwater pearls.  These pearls come in different shapes, sizes and many colors never before seen in pearls.  Freshwater pearl jewelry is now a booming business.  Fine jewelry makers, beaded jewelry makers, and hand-crafts people can now create affordable, satiny and shimmering pearl jewelry that can be worn for most occasion.

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Hello World!!!

Welcome to Beauty and the Bling.  Celebrating hand-made jewelry making and wearing.  We’re here to share information about jewelry: its history, its creation, items used to make jewelry, and the fun of wearing it.  So add your Bling to this Blog, and share your insights!

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Hand Crafted Jewelry as an Art Form

Hand made jewelry making is one of the oldest art forms. Jewelry has been used to beautify the wearer, show status or one’s position in society, attract others, and condense wealth. Beautifying the wearer is probably the most frequent use of jewelry today, although there are still elements of showing off one’s wealth, showing status, attracting others, as well as, condensing wealth and making it easily transportable.

By wearing unique hand crafted jewelry and custom designed jewelry, you can express your individuality and beautify yourself. When you look beautiful, you feel beautiful, and when you feel beautiful, others notice.

Enjoy wearing handmade beaded jewelry or metal-smithed jewelry! It’s meant to be fun, an extension of individuality, and a presentation of yourself and your moods.

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